Rachel Laudan

Ecotours

The mountains about the city are known as the Sierra de Guanajuato. They have evergreen oak forests, a rich range of flora and fauna, hidden villages, ruined haciendas, baroque churches, and other wonders. Most of the Sierra is inaccessible except on foot, mountain bike, horse, or van.

And that’s where Antonio Ojeda and his daughter Susanna come in. Antonio, trained as a mining engineer, knows the Sierra like the back of his hand and for ten years has run ecotours. He or Susanna will be happy to create a tour that matches your interest. I have been on two and can vouch that they are organized, fun, knowledgeable and take you to places you would never find on your own. I’ve lived here ten years and would never have discovered these places without Antonio.

For another opinion, here is a report on Guanajuato off the beaten path.

Regional Cuisine

Don’t let anyone persuade you that there is no decent food in Guanajuato. Instead make a reservation with a group of friends for a meal with Jesus and LuzMa Cardenas. Their regional Guanajuato cuisine is out of this world as this report by Steve Sando, better known as Rancho Gordo, the guy for heritage beans, shows. To contact Jesus and Luzma and arrange a menu, write them at lasmercedesbanquetes@gmail.com. Or try this Calle de Arriba #6, Colonia San Javier. The taxi drivers know the name of the restaurant and the address. Or try from Guanajuato 732 7375 (from other parts of Mexico add 01 473 in front, from US 01152 473) or lasmercedes_banquetes@hotmail.com).

Guanajuato is also lucky to have a number of good places to buy traditional candies and sweet things. Dulces del Cubilete has been in business for fifty years. They have a shop at Avenida Juárez 188 near the Hidalgo Market. Their candied fruits are out of this world. If you normally find candied fruit tastes stale and sugary, this is the place to change your mind. You can still taste the fruit and because the fruits are super fresh, the texture is still soft. I specially like their lime and orange, (and they are wonderful for baking, but their figs, pineapple, and xoconostle are all worth trying too. Most of the sweets are made right here in Guanajuato by Ignacio Agreda. Tel. 473-732-5934.

Just a few blocks up the street, there is La Catrina in Plazuela de los Angeles 74. It’s slicker and the owners put their own label on products they buy from others. They have a wonderful collection of fruit liqueurs. You might also look out for the mermelada de capulin, jam made from the Mexican wild cherry. Tel. 473-734-0203.

Maps

1.The government has made two excellent maps of the City of Guanajuato available for downloading in .pdf format at:

http://www.guanajuatocapital.gob.mx/mapagto/gtomap.swf

(thanks to Bob Mrotek for the above suggestion)

2. If you like maps and statistics, if you want maps for hiking, head off to the local office of INEGI (Instituto Nacional de Estádistica y Geografía) on Tepetapa. Great detailed topographic maps, geological maps, some tour guides to different states, CDS of the whole of Mexico, all sorts of different goodies at very affordable prices.

Ironwork

You are not likely to see it mentioned in guidebooks but there is a distinguished tradition of ironwork in Guanajuato going back several hundred years. Keep an eye out in churches or strolling round town for some lovely examples. Balconies, doors, gates, lamps are often exquisitely made. The tradition continues by the way. The herrero who made our rejas (iron grills to go over windows) is a master of the art.

People who can ease your way

For event planning, conferences, tourist groups and so on. Claudia Ramírez Martínez, director of Códice.

codice2006@prodigy.net.mx

01 473 731 3022 Nextel 473 141 6810

More coming on incunabula, baroque organs, haciendas, trips and more.